Various techniques are known for feeding farm animals. These techniques range from extremely simple methods, such as simply throwing food on the ground in an area having animals, to quite sophisticated techniques. The more sophisticated techniques have been designed to accomplish at least two objectives. The first objective is to provide a means for delivering food to the animals in an efficient manner so that more animals may be tended by each farm worker. Another objective is to provide a specific amount of food to each animal to thereby make the output (or growth) of each animal greater for the total amount of food consumed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,914,023 (St. Pierre) and 3,156,215 (Barker) are representative of prior art devices directed to accomplishing these objectives. The St. Pierre patent shows a system for feeding farm animals wherein an elevated conveyor system communicates with a plurality of downwardly-extending columns, each of which terminates in a feeding trough. The conveyor supplies the upper end of each of the columns with food which then falls through the column into a trough. An adjustment plate is provided in each column to allow the farmer to vary the amount of food supplied to each trough. The patent to Barker shows a system for feeding poultry and includes a movable hopper mounted to an elevated rail. The hopper moves above a continuous feeding trough and has an outlet orifice which deposits food in the trough as the hopper moves along the rail.
It is also known to provide a stationery feeder for an animal wherein a particular animal is identified and an amount of food is dispensed corresponding to the predetermined needs of that animal. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,557,758; 3,750,626; 3,516,575; 3,541,995; and 4,350,119 teach systems having animal identification systems which dispense an amount of food corresponding to the requirements of a particular animal.